Testing Noah

The next day, Noah arrived at the cafe. He was earlier than the fixed time and had to wait for Ivy to come. He had done this on purpose mainly for two reasons. First, he wanted to create a good impression on Ivy, after all she would become his sister-in-law in the future. Second, he wanted to play along with her prank and see what she was up to.

Noah had not informed Aria about Ivy's trick. He knew she was oblivious of it, otherwise she would have warned him. This was a meeting without anybody else's knowledge.

Ivy was on time, she was inside the cafe at 11 a.m. She looked around her in search of Noah. She had seen his picture. So, finding him would not be difficult for her. After a few seconds, she saw him sitting at the farther end of the cafe. He was glancing at his watch every few seconds impatiently.

Ivy smirked. He observed him from her place before she approached him.

He was handsome. Ten points. He was rich and could take care of Aria without any problems. Ten points. He had style. Ten points. For now, he had gained thirty points. There was still seventy more to go and Ivy would only consider him to be with Aria if he got a perfect score.

She walked to him slowly. She thought that since Noah did not know who she was, it would not be a problem for her.

"Excuse me Mister. Is this seat taken?" She asked coquettishly.

Noah looked at her. Although he had not seen Ivy, he realized that it was her. The previous night after he had found out that the text was from Ivy, he had forgotten to ask Joshua to send him her picture.

At first, Noah was surprised. There was no resemblance between Ivy and Aria. It would be difficult for anybody to believe that they were twins. However, he immediately composed himself and involved himself in the act. He did not know what Ivy was getting at.

"I am sorry Miss. I am waiting for someone." He answered her without hesitation.

"I could give you company till then." Ivy batted her eyelashes. Noah realized Ivy was flirting with him.

"No Miss. Please leave."

'Not a flirt. Ten points.' Ivy thought inwardly.

"Mister, aren't you the business tycoon Noah Allen Carter?"

Noah remained silent.

"Oh. That was why I felt you to be familiar. I have heard about you a lot." Ivy looked at him with stars in her eyes. She was literally fangirling over him. Noah's lips raised a little. Yet he looked at her coldly.

"Miss. I am waiting for someone. Please leave." He faked anxiousness and looked at his watch again.

"Why is that person not here?" He said aloud.

"Who?" Ivy blurted out without thinking. She immediately realized her mistake and stuck out her tongue.

"Mister Carter, I like you," Ivy said and held his hand.

Noah was shocked. This was something he had not expected even in his dreams. He did not know Aria's sister had a crush on him. He started to panic.

"Miss, I don't know who you are. But let me tell you one thing, I already have a girlfriend and I am happy."

Ivy stifled a smile. He was honest, trustworthy and definitely not a cheater. Ten more points.

"It does not matter Mr. Carter. I like you. Even if we cannot take our relationship any further, we could have some fun." She gave him a suggestive look.

Noah was disgusted by her now. If she was not Aria's sister, he would have slapped her hard on her face. But he was enduring it just for his woman. He wondered if Aria knew that her sister was seducing her man.

"Get lost." He looked her in anger. "How dare you? I am trying to give you some face. Before I lose control, get out of my sight."

His speech gained him thirty points at one go. He was now at eighty.

Ivy realized that her test had gone a little too far. Yet she tried one last time.

"Are you sure? I will keep this a secret."

Noah gave her a cold glare which made Ivy laugh. She was holding her stomach and laughing hysterically until there were tears in her eyes.

"You are so cute brother-in-law." She said after some time.

Noah was flabbergasted. He stared at her astonished.

Looking at his bewildered, Ivy gave him an apologetic smile.

"Mr. Carter, I apologize for my behavior just now. It was not my intention to seduce you, I was merely testing you."

"What do you mean?"

"You see, Aria only has me as a family right now. So, it is my responsibility to take care of her. When I heard that she was dating you, I was a little skeptical about this relationship."

"But why?" Noah asked her calmly. This time his expressions had become gentle but not as gentle as he was in front of Aria.

"You are a well-renowned person. I was not sure if you were serious about her or were only having fun with her."

"I understand. I promise that I will do nothing that will hurt Aria and if I did hurt her, it would not be intentional. After all, I love her." Noah confessed.

"Wow, brother-in-law you are so cool. Sorry about that. It was merely a test."

"So, how would you evaluate me?"

"You scored an eighty on a hundred. Wait, do you know to cook?"

"Yes."

"Then ninety."

"What about the remaining ten?"

"That will be awarded later. I am sure you will eventually gain those points too. It's my first time meeting you. So, I need to have some reservations. Also, you are a bad actor."

"Why do you say so?"

"I knew you found out that I was Aria's sister."

"How?" Noah was taken aback again. His sister-in-law was truly amazing.

"You are a businessman. It is obvious that you would have people to investigate messages from unknown people especially the ones which involved you or somebody close to you. It was not hard to guess."

"You are smart."

"I know." Ivy patted her shoulder, making Noah laugh in the process.

"So, what do you want to order?" Noah handed her a menu.

"Oh right, I am a little hungry, now that you mention it. However, it will be my treat."

"No way." Noah rejected at once.

"Brother-in-law, take it as a compensation for testing you and I am not taking a no from you. What would Aria say if she finds out that I tested you and also made you pay for my food? I am not yet ready to get myself killed especially by a doctor who is also my sister."

Noah laughed again. Both the sisters were intelligent and funny and extremely stubborn. Before He could say anything to her, Ivy had already called the waiter. She gave her orders and looked at him to place his order. After he finished with his order, Ivy stopped the waiter.

"Ask Jim to place this order on my tab?"

The waiter nodded and took his leave.

"Do you know Jim?" Noah asked her.

"Yeah. I frequent this place a lot."

"Hmm. By the way, next time it will be my treat."

"Sure, remember I am only buying you brunch. When your turn comes, it will not be something small. I am a huge eater, I might end up emptying your pockets."

"Sure. Not a problem. I have loads of money to feed you for a lifetime."

Ivy gave him a thumbs up. "Yeah, brother-in-law, keep this meeting a secret from my sister."

"Why?"

"She doesn't know a thing about it and if she finds out then I am as good as dead."

"Okay."

Noah did not have any intentions of telling Aria. It was something between him and Ivy anyway. He was also happy that Ivy had accepted him whole-heartedly. A huge burden was removed off his shoulders now.